Makati is a safe city but it needs a landmark

This month Makati City had two explosions. The first took place in Grepalife Building on the corner of Ayala Avenue and Gil Puyat. No one was killed or injured and there was minimal damage to the building that houses seven embassies and offices of the European Union and the United Nations. This was because a lone bomb was thrown on the wee hours of the morning. Obviously, the bomber wanted to attract attention but not harm people or cause damage to property.

The second bomb exploded last Monday in front of the Aquaventure House in Barangay San Antonio. The bomb was a grenade and as in the Grepalife case, it was obvious that the bomber made sure that the explosion would not kill or injure any person nor cause damage to property.

We agree with Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay that Makati is a safe city. We would like to go further and say that Metro Manila is a safe metropolis. This is due mainly because of the police and the armed forces that are on regular alert in the whole metropolis.

When we arrived from the United States decades ago after graduating from college, the airport was in Makati and there was nothing in Makati then. Today, it is undoubtedly the commercial center of all Metro Manila. What it needs is a landmark that all people will associate with Makati. At the moment that landmark is the Aquino monument and historically there is very little to associate Ninoy Aquino with Makati.

Makati did a good job of clearing the railroad tracks of squatters. Mayor Binay must have a good plan on what to do with that long area that has been cleared. One project to consider is to have that converted to a city forest. Manila has its Arroceros Park. If that long area along Osmeña highway were transformed into a tropical forest, it would not only enhance the city of Makati but would also serve to reduce pollution in the city. Manila has plans to reforest Smokey Mountain. We think that Mayor Binay should make Makati the first city with the longest forest in Metro Manila and the longest space along the railroad tracks that has been cleared of squatters is an ideal place for such a project.

Yesterday, we read that in General Santos City, former communist rebels, soldiers and students got together to plant 6000 tree seedlings as the first step to reforest a deforested area in Maasim, Sarangani Province. It would be good if Mayor Binay could get soldiers and Makati civic leaders to take leading parts in whatever he decides to do with the squatter-free railroad track. It may become the part of Makati that is closest to nature. We need that to add to the image that Makati is Metro Manila’s commercial center.